Five European Automotive Brands Now Owned By Chinese Companies

When it comes to global market shares, China has its way of figuring itself in in almost every field there. The same is true for the automotive industry. Over the past decades, a number of automotive brands that you'd normally associate with European countries have been snagged by Chinese firms. For one reason or another, these car manufacturers now operate under Chinese leadership. And while that hasn't led to any major change in their global operations, we wanted to give you a little refresher on who you think owns these European brands. So without any further ado, here are 5 European automotive brands now owned by Chinese companies.

MG Motor

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MG Motor has had a rollercoaster of a ride these past decades. It was initially part of the Rover Group conglomerate that was comprised of biggies like Mini, the Land Rover Group, Freight Rover vans and Leyland Trucks at one point. While the business was down in 1994, BMW gave the Rover Group a new lease of life by buying it. The ride didn't stop there as MG got sold to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000 and its name changed to MG Rover. The wild ride continued when in 2005, Chinese state-owned SAIC Motor saved it by allotting the carmaker to its Nanjing Automobile company.

Volvo

Photo Credit: www.volvocars.com

You'd normally associate Volvo with Sweden but you should know that the real owner of the trusted car company is Geely Holding, a Chinese multinational automotive firm. The company made a killing in the first year of the pandemic by selling around 2.4 million cars globally. Motorcycle brand Benelli also comes under the wing of this conglomerate.

LDV

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British van maker LDV or Leyland DAF Vans is another company that was snagged by SAIC Motor during the Rover Group breakup. LDV still has a huge presence in the van industry in many parts of the world.

Lotus Cars

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Known for creating some of the most powerful cars in Europe at one time, British company Lotus is currently owned by Chinese multinational Geely, with Etika Automotive as an equity partner. Lotus Engineering, which is an offshoot of Lotus Cars, has facilities in the UK, the US, China, and Malaysia.

Pirelli

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And then there's Pirelli, which, apart from being one of the biggest tyre manufacturers in the world, is the official tyre provider for Formula One races. As recently as 2015, the China National Chemical Corp. Ltd., better known as ChemChina took over the controlling interest of Pirelli. This ownership structure has been agreed upon to last until 2023.

Which one among these 5 European automotive brands now owned by Chinese companies surprised you the most?